Take Along Art / Craft Bag - Part 4

Hello Bloglanders

I'm running a bit behind schedule but that's how it works down under in Sunny SA. Our ADSL doesn't live up to expectations on month-ends BUT finally, I'm here to share the last part of my Take Along Art / Craft Bag.

How to add the "Puffy Pocket":

The secret is to sew the bottom seam first, then measure and add the Velcro to the Puffy Pocket and inside of the bag and only THEN pin and stitch the side seams.

I've added Velcro to these places. You can add more / omit some:

Now finish off your bag:

In my last picture you can see the pocket that forms between the front and back panels of the bag. I added heavy cardstock to these "pockets" as well as to the bag's spine.  In here, I fit my scrapbook paper. Perfect size and due to the sturdiness, it wouldn't bend.

And finally, My finished bag.  If you missed the post on the Craft Storage Ideas blog, just click here to be redirected.  I shared my tips and tricks on decorating the bag with Fabric Inc over there.

And that concludes my DIY Take Along Art / Craft Bag.  I'll be back over the weekend to share my kiddies version.  Perfect and just in time for Xmas.

I'm off to do some more crafting. Thanks for looking at my blog and see U again SOON.

Take Along Art / Craft Bag - Part 3

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are having a Thunderous Thursday.  Thanks for joining me today where I'll explain how I did the "Puffy Pocket" for my Art / Craft Bag. If you missed part 1 and 2, just scroll down to catch up.

I always keep my paper, print-outs and die cuts in a plastic letter box. The one I used is A4 but if you want to use a bigger one for scrapbook paper, just adapt the size of yours. Because of the "bulk" in this pocket, I had to "puff it up" with boxed corners. Let me show you how easy it is:

First, pin the corner of your pocket over the stuff that you want to put in there.

Mark with pencil on both sides. (It should make a square when you unpin the corner)

Now stitch along the pencil line BUT leave the bottom 1cm UN STITCHED!!!  This 1cm seam allowance is where your pocket will be joined to the bag.

Trim the seams.

As easy as that!!!

Tomorrow we will finish our bag.  Thanks for joining me today! Have a GREAT day and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Take Along Art / Craft Bag - Part 2

Hallo Bloglanders

And I'm back with the second part of my Art / Craft bag.  If you missed the first part, just scroll down or click here.  Hurry and catch up - you are going to have SO much fun sewing along.

It's a great idea to slip your paintbrushes under some elastic as it keeps them right where they should be. You can even hang your bag and they will stay put!!

And this is how I did it:

Draw a line down the middle of your "Puffy" bag.  (I'll be showing how I made it tomorrow) I used pencil as the elastic is going to cover my markings.




Pin the elastic over the items you want to keep on the outside of your "Puffy Pocket".


Remove the items.


Stitch.



DONE!!!

As easy as that.  As promised, I'll be back tomorrow with the "Puffy Pocket"  Thanks for sewing with me today.

And for my non sewing friends I brought some more Halloween inspiration.  Just click on the links beneath the pictures and you will be redirected to the post that explains how I did it.

                  LINK                                              LINK                                            LINK
        Haunted House Bag                           BOO Babes                                 Spider pillow packs
  
Thanks for looking at my blog. Have fun and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Take Along Art / Craft Bag - Part 1

Good morning Bloglanders

To all my fellow storage enthusiast coming from the Craft Storage Ideas blog - thanks for joining me this week - we will have FUN and I'll show exactly how I made my Take Along Art / Craft Bag.

This is what the finished product looks like:

Today we are going to cut and seam the open edges. Tomorrow I'll explain how I added the elastic to fit my tools, Wednesday we will do the "puffy pocket", on Thursday Velcro, straps and finishing up. On Friday I have a special surprise for you - a mini version for the kiddo's. Perfect and just in time for Xmas. Check back as there is a TWIST on this one!!

Without further ado I'll show what the finished bag should look like. The final size of the closed bag is 30 x 33 cm and about 6cm deep to accommodate the inside pockets.

NB!!! 1 inch = 2.54 cm. Therefor, if you want to measure in inches, you have to divide my measurements by 2.54. At the end of the week, I'll share a link to a printable where you will have both units.

You will need about 70cm of leftover, sturdy fabric. Mine was a 140cm wide bull denim.
40cm elastic
32 cm Velcro (1.5 cm wide)
Sturdy cardstock. (I added this as I want to use my bag for crops. Therefor, I wanted my covers to be extra sturdy not to damage my scrapbook paper. My scrapbook paper go into the "pockets" that form between the outside front and back covers)

Lets start cutting:
70 x 35 cm (Cut 2) - Front and Back

23 x 30cm - Flat Pocket

25 x 40cm - Puffy Pocket

19 x 30cm - Back Pocket

15 x 15cm (Cut 2) - Back pocket flap, Bag flap (fold in half to be 15 x 7.5cm)

10 x 10cm - Puffy Pocket flap (fold in half to be 10 x 5cm)

40 x 5cm (Cut 2) - Handles (fold in half to be 40 x 2.5cm)

Now seam all the edges that will be left open. I used a zig zag. (length 4, width 2) - the look I wanted was "rough and arty".  If you want a neater look, just fold over and stitch.

The edges that will stay open are:

Short edges of front and back

Flat pocket short edge

Puffy Pocket long edge

Back pocket long edge

Also, fold the flaps and handles in half, iron flat and sew around the open edges:

Now we are ready to start assembling.  I'll be back tomorrow to show you how. The puffy pocket is the only tricky part BUT if you follow my instructions it's easy peasy.

For my non-sewing Bloglanders, I brought some Halloween inspiration. Just follow the links below the pictures to see the inside info.

                  LINK                                           LINK                                                 LINK

       Spider Pillow Packs                           A Jar of Worms                                   Mini Pumpkins  

Thanks for joining me today. Have a Marvellous Monday and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

     

Sunday Summary Week 43

Happy Sunday to you all!!

Can you believe it's less than 10 weeks to 2015?? I have SO much still to do!!

OK, let's not get into that. This week I didn't craft that much and I don't know why. As the builders are working on converting part of our house to a flatlet for Wernich, I've been cleaning, running around, fetching stuff and deciding on tiles, paint and bathroom accessories.

Right now it's a mess but I'll show once it's done.  Even my OLD garden bench is getting a makeover. I've painted it purple and I loved the colour but after 10 years in the African sun, the paint started peeling away and as we had to repaint. I stripped it down to the original wood.

My father bought it second hand when I was very small. It has been painted brown, yellow, green (2 variants), blue, red, and purple.  My mum did the yellow and blue and YES .................... I did the purple. Wynand jokingly said he's going to paint it orange as he has some leftover paint. Little did we know that it was the only colour still outstanding. BUT it's my bench and it's going to be purple again. No orange in my garden except for flowers.

Talking about my garden. Last week I showed me white Amaryllis lilies and this week my red ones opened up.

And the "hanging bow" our Princess ordered .............................

On the left it's on my dressmaking dummy, middle, my inspiration and on the right - our Princess en route to her party.

And I just remembered what kept me so busy .........................

I was lucky enough to receive a fabric ink kit from Silhouette and decided to make a Watercolour art bag to store all my goodies and also to have it packed and ready to take along on trips. It will be on the Craft Storage Ideas Blog this week and once it's up I'll show right here on Play as U GO how to make it.

Get your leftover fabric out and "sew along" this week. It's going to be fun and I'll give you all the inside info. I specifically made the bag 35 x 35 cm as it's big enough to become a scrapping bag as well. SO, even if you don't do watercolour, this is the perfect scrapping bag 4 U / craft bag to keep your kiddo's entertained.  

I'm also making a miniature version with a twist.  GREAT idea for Christmas pressies!!

Talking about Christmas, it's time to get started on cards, tags and handmade pressies. It's going to be on my "to do" list THIS WEEK. I hope you will be joining me and sew / play along.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I'll be back tomorrow with the first part of my "TAKE ALONG ART / CRAFT BAG".  In the meantime, have fun and remember to try something new. 

Leftover magic

Good morning Bloglanders

Finally, it's weekend!! I'm just checking in to show what I did with a leftover die cut from this set. I used most of it to do this layout:

You know me - waste not, want not. SO, the "overlefts" were just right for my "IDEES" notebook. (Idees = Ideas).  I always keep one on hand - to write notes, links, I even add pictures when I want to scraplift. And here she is:

I used a shop bought notebook, added the die cut, a brad and a glitter foam title.  No mess, no fuss and something have been used that would have ended up in my scrap bin.

This is such an easy way to pretty up notebooks. I think I'll be doing some more for my pressie stash and for my DIY friends I'm going to pack everything in kit form. Watch this pace and all will be revealed!!

That's it from me. I'm working on a "hanging bow" for our Princess. Ever heard of it??? Me neither but trust my funky daughter-in-law to come up with bright, new ideas. I'll show my version in my Sunday Summary. Just check back.

Have a great day and weekend. Thanks for looking at my bloggie and see U soon.

Sunday Summary Week 42

Good morning Bloglanders

YES!!! I know - It's Tuesday but I still want to recap on what happened the past week. My Sunday Summaries became my Project Life of sorts and by no means do I want to miss out on one. During August I made a layout that said "Weird August". Then I listed all the funny and not-so-funny things that happened.

Just a few:
My appendix had to be removed and I spent a week in hospital.
Wernich's long term relationship ended after more than 10 years.
Princess lost her engagement ring.
THE wedding.

Now it seems that 2014 is altogether weird. My mum got diagnosed with cancer last week - she survived breast cancer, a heart attack and numerous other ailments over the past 20 years but now she is 76 years old and weighs about 50kgs.  Not good. Fortunately she has all her children nearby as well as a doting husband - seems to be all she wants.

Now for some crafting news.  I had to clean and clear two rooms in my house.  It's going to be converted into a flat for Wernich who is returning home next month. This is what the bathroom currently looks like:

Somewhere beneath all the junk is a whole bath, basin and toilet!

Downsizing is no easy task - especially if you are a crafter and hoarder like me but over the next few months I'll be turning my home (what's left of it) into a super efficient living and storage space for Wynand and me. And of course - I'll share with you!!

Let's start with my cube. It's shop bought and I inherited it from our Princess.  She is an interior designer and black is her fave colour so the cube was a very faded and stained black velvet.  I love purple and washed out blues but I do want to tone down my "smaller" space so I opted for a cream cover.

It is loose which means that I can take it off to wash. I added pockets to the sides as I always have stuff  lying around.  A magazine, the TV remotes, a craft product that I want to look at. You name it, it now fits neatly into the pockets. I did take "work in progress" pictures and will share it later this week - super easy DIY!!

My husband's solution for every crisis - some time out of doors!!

We also spent a wonderful evening with friends in Cape Town - this is the view we woke up to the next morning:

 From their apartment you can see the larger than life Cape Town soccer stadium, the waterfront and Robben Island - Awesome!

And I joined another of Wilna's classes. There is some calm in watching her paint away that I need right now. It also inspires me to try new techniques. Yesterday I did Lesson 1 - Stencils and this is what I did with my knowledge:



































Weird colour combo??? My inspiration came from the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday blog -

COLOR COORDINATES 

and I enjoyed every second working with it!!! I still have to add some journaling and I'm going to try my hand at Wilna's  famous ink spatters. Wish me luck!

And last but not least - a pic of my Amaryllis lilies. They are totally beautiful and I took this pic on my iphone to send to my mum.  As she is visiting my sister, 800 kilometres away and I can't bring her flowers, I thought I'll send her a picture instead.

That's it. I'm off to practise my ink splatters!! Thanks for looking at my blog today and please come back to play as I have lots more to share right here on Play as U Go. Have fun and see U soon!

More IS More Watercolour midweek madness

Hallo Bloglanders

I'm just checking in to let you know that I'm still in Blogland and doing my bit be creative. Once again  - the office is busy, the house in chaos, my mom's sick and I just don't have enough time to get to everything BUT I do try to do something crafty every day.

And my project: Watercolour painting with stamps, pics, die cuts and LOTS of journaling.

Last weekend on our camping trip I did some watercolour painting and when everything was thoroughly dry, I used stamps from my stash to pretty it up. I was very pleased with the result and didn't want to spoil it and so I scanned my original and printed another on watercolour paper:

On the left is my copy and on the right the original.

And then I started painting.  You can paint over the stamped images because they are no longer ink but copied!! ........................... and therefore don't bleed. I wanted a "less pink" look for this page:

And then I added die cuts from my stash, a few pics and the journaling. I never thought I would like a page as crazy as this one but I totally love it.  That's why I adore challenges - they get me out of my comfort zone and make me try something new.

Best thing is - I can print and paint some more on demand and will definitely be using some in my Project Life Layouts. Just watch this space and you will meet this "work of art" again. 

And a bit of a close-up:

My layout is a  journal of sorts. I listed who went on our camping weekend, what we ate and what the camp site and weather was like. Now it's going into my PL album next to pictures of the wonderful weekend

My inspiration came from the SimonSaysStamp blog Wednesday challenge (use watercolours)  and of course - Wilna's Art & Design over at Big Picture Classes. Watercolours ............................. what an easy, "cheap" way to pretty up your creations.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. Please check back as I have tons more to share right here on Play as U Go and remember to try something new - TODAY!!

Until we meet again.

Love and Sunshine from Sunny South Africa

Hazel

Sunday Summary Week 41

Good morning Bloglanders

And a happy Sunday to you all!! Once again, it was a busy week at HQ Hamman. Wynand and I moved into our "new" bedroom and I'm still working on the decor. Once done, I'll give you a peek into "my" space.

I've worked on  a watercolour paint bag but will only be spilling the beans once it is live on the Craft Storage Ideas Blog. I totally love it and will share the "how to" right here on my blog. Check back on the 27th. (Just for my blog readers - I already used it here.)

I'm still doing Wilna's course over at Big Picture classes and this is my effort of the week:

It's from the first week's classes - "grids" and you can see what the printable looked like "before" in my product list below.

I loved colouring it with watercolours - it's like wax crayons used to be when I was small - just better!! My effort is going into my "art journal". Sometimes I just feel a more artistic approach coming on and then my 8x8 purple journal comes out.

And I finished this layaout as well:

I used the grid cut file to make a stencil with my Silhouette and some stencil material, just painted in the blocks with acrylic paint and added some stamping and pictures left over from another project. I'm not even sure I'll be adding journaling as "there's no one like you" says it all.

What I love is that my stencil can be reused.  What an easy way to personalize a layout in no time at all!

Back to the sewing machine. Cara sent over a pic of her in THE red dress:

And I also have a pic of my furry friend, PJ soaking up the spring sun on our deck:

I've been inspired by the SimonSaysStamp Monday challenge to make some fall embellishments with my Silhouette. The prompt is "falling in love with ......................." and as it's Spring down under in Sunny SA, I decided to do embellishments. I've done them before and they have been SO great to have on hand to decorate presents, use on cards / layouts / mini books / project life that I'm doing a second take.

"Print and Cut" with your Silhouette, assemble with some pop dots in between for dimension and they are ready to go. I store mine on transparency sheets - makes them look "shop bought". GREAT presents and party favours.

That's it. Another week done and dusted.  I'm back to Wilna's art class .............................. Until we meet again, have fun and remember to try something new - TODAY!

Products used: